


no love for the limelight

by haleofStilesheart



Series: Tumblr Prompts [40]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Actor Derek, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Actors, Business Manager Stiles, Established Relationship, Gossip, M/M, Rumors, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-19
Updated: 2017-05-19
Packaged: 2018-11-02 14:52:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10946796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haleofStilesheart/pseuds/haleofStilesheart
Summary: According to US Weekly and every other major gossip magazine, Derek and Stiles are married. The only problem is that they aren't.





	no love for the limelight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Anonymous](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anonymous/gifts).



> For the prompt: "According to US Weekly, we're married."

"According to US Weekly, we're married."

Stiles punctuated his statement by slapping down a copy of the offending tabloid magazine on Derek's coffee table, none too gently. The table wobbled a bit from the amount of force he used, a steaming cup of coffee nearly spilling all over the table.

Beaming up at him from the glossy front page of the magazine was a blown up picture of him and Derek on the set between shoots. It was slightly blurred around the edges thanks to being zoomed in on so very much, proving just how much of an invasion of privacy it was.

He couldn't know for sure who had taken the photo, the article not disclosing the photographer, but Stiles had a sneaking suspicion of who it was nonetheless. He would have bet anything it was that creepy little snake Matt Daehler, the disgusting paparazzo who had made a name for himself by stalking celebrities and their families.

For the past few weeks, he had caught glimpses of someone slinking around behind the scenes, the hairs on the back of his neck rising whenever he did. Just a few days ago his suspicions that it was Daehler had been confirmed when he witnessed him lurking around one of the sets.

And now a picture of him and Derek was being circulated nationwide, various tabloids and newspapers hosting articles speculating about it. The picture was even being discussed on talk and morning shows that apparently had nothing else to talk to.

He folded his arms over his chest and raised an unamused, expectant brow at Derek who merely blinked up at him. When Derek failed to say anything, Stiles gestured emphatically down at the magazine.

In the picture, Derek was wearing one of his outfits for the movie: a dark navy blue waxed cotton jacket over a black sweater, dark jeans, black boots, black sunglasses...and a wedding ring. It was crucial to the role he was playing, the movie focusing on a single father raising his daughter while struggling with depression and PTSD.

It was sure to be a classic, full of emotional scenes highlighting the everyday challenges of life with mental illness, centering on the main character, Tyler, learning how to juggle his own issues along with his daughter's. Rather than glorify or romanticize both Tyler's mental illnesses and his self-care, the film explored the nitty gritty truth of depression and PTSD and suicidal thoughts.

However, while Derek's wedding ring was necessary for the movie, the matching ring on Stiles' hand was not.

Derek's arms were wrapped around him from behind in the picture, his ring gleaming in the sun as he smiled radiantly, his famous bunny teeth on full display. Stiles' left hand was resting on Derek's forearm as he laughed, showing off the matching silver band on his own ring finger, it too glistening in the sunlight.

He had to admit, they did look like a blissfully happy married couple hanging out on the set of a project they were both involved with. But in reality, it had just been a joke.

When the prop department had given his first ring to wear for the scene, it was a size too small, Derek unable to get it passed his first knuckle. Erica, the head of the department, had cursed and rifled through her bag to find another before hurrying away to give another actor their necklace, leaving Derek with the too small ring.

Smirking, Derek had grabbed Stiles' hand and slipped the ring on his finger instead, laughing raucously at Stiles' shocked and confused expression. Still guffawing, Derek had looped his arms around Stiles and pretended to pout about Stiles not wanting to marry him.

And now, the harmless joke between two friends was being blown way out of proportion and plastered all over the nation. It was a certifiable PR nightmare.

Already, Stiles had received calls from nearly every major magazine in the U.S. along with half of the gossip talk shows on the West Coast (not to mention all of the missed calls he had from his dad). And he was sure it was even worse for Derek and his agent, Peter.

Because Derek was one of the biggest names in Hollywood at the moment. He already had two Oscar nominations, one for best supporting actor and one for best actor period, along with three Screen Actors Guild awards.

After being a series regular on a somewhat popular show that had stretched on for seven seasons, Derek had begun appearing in movies, usually as minor side characters. But no matter what role he played, he always stole the show with his charisma and sincerity, amassing a huge following after acting in his first major length film.

He had shortly thereafter begun starring in more leading roles, his genuineness and unbelievable range, in addition to his agent's ruthlessness, allowing him to quickly become a star. Across the country, he was known for his devotion to his craft and his ability to play any part he was given.

In one of his first starring roles, he had enchanted viewers across the world with his sweet, down to earth portrayal of a nerdy author falling in love with his neighbor, a charming handyman. Then, in his next film, he terrified audiences with his bloodthirsty portrayal of a vicious, man-eating werewolf seeking revenge on the humans who had killed his family.

So while Derek was America's sweetheart, Stiles was just a celebrity business manager.

His only client was his best friend Scott, who was playing the part of Derek's brother in the movie, dedicating himself to making sure no one in the cutthroat business of Hollywood took advantage of his oftentimes naive friend. He was more comfortable behind the scenes, working somewhat anonymously in the background.

And now his face was all over the news. It was safe to say he was more than a little pissed off.

"Um, okay..." Derek answered, clearly and infuriatingly unbothered by the whole situation. Because why would he be? He was Derek freaking Hale. He had been the focus of the Hollywood rumor mill hundreds of times, none of the gossip actually true. For him, it was just business as usual.

Stiles let out a frustrated groan and plopped down in the chair across from the loveseat Derek was lounging on, burying his face in his hands. He just wanted to crawl into a hole and hide until the whole thing blew over. But he couldn't. He had too much to do.

He had interviews to arrange for Scott, along with meet and greets with fans and autograph signings, all of which were extremely necessary. Scott was still a newcomer in the business, so far his only roles being the goofy sidekick in a few TV shows and movies, but with the announcement of him starring in a movie with the Derek Hale, his future suddenly looked much brighter.

He certainly couldn't just abandon Scott to fend for himself. It would be an even bigger disaster than the picture!

"Fuck," Stiles breathed, realizing something he hadn't even considered before. He had been too worried about himself and his own reputation that he hadn't thought about Scott's. Now that he had, he whimpered, "Oh my god, this is gonna ruin Scott."

That seemed to catch Derek's attention. He sat up straighter, resting his elbows on his knees and narrowing his eyes at Stiles, tilting his head to the side. "How is it gonna ruin Scott?"

"Because," Stiles began, squeezing his eyes shut and scrubbing his hands over his face, feeling exhausted and angry and stressed and guilty. He dropped his hands into his lap afterwards, staring down at his cuticles that he had been chewing on earlier when he had first heard about the photo. "Everyone's gonna think he only got the part because we're married."

"C'mon, Stiles. It's not like anyone actually buys into this stuff," Derek said, reaching over to lay his hand on top of Stiles', giving it a gentle, reassuring squeeze. Trying to stay optimistic, he continued on, explaining, "It's just gossip. I bet it's already old news."

Stiles abruptly stood, Derek jerking his hand back in surprise. Snatching the remote off the nearby side table, Stiles turned on the flat screen TV on the wall, clicking through the channels until he reached channel four.

Four older women were sitting at a table, an even larger copy of the picture displayed on a screen behind them, Derek and Stiles' smiles beaming back at them almost mockingly. The women were discussing how long Derek and Stiles had been married for, speculating over whether or not they had gone on a honeymoon yet.

Stiles changed the TV to channel five where the two hosts of a talk show were chattering away, this time just a picture of Stiles on display. They were discussing his career as a celebrity business manager, mentioning Scott's filmography and whether or not he attended the wedding.

The next five channels Stiles turned to consisted of much of the same, all of the stations simply accepting their rumored clandestine marriage as a fact based on one picture. Some of the shows featuring former costars of Derek who were more than happy to allude to a secret romance just for fifteen minutes more of fame.

Tossing the remote onto the chair he had vacated, Stiles crossed his arms again and wondered aloud, "What were you saying?"

Derek grabbed the remote and shut the TV off with a heavy sigh, gesturing for Stiles to sit back down. Stiles did, his frown still firmly in place as he let out another irritated huff.

"I'll have Peter set up an interview and I'll explain the whole thing, okay?" Derek suggested, curling his arm around Stiles' shoulders and pulling him a little closer, a natural toucher. And as nice as it was to have the comforting warmth of Derek against him, his arm wrapped around him tightly, Stiles jerked his head back.

"But, Derek, isn't ring a big plot point?" Stiles questioned, well aware of the fact that one of the most crucial scenes involved the main character finally putting his wedding ring back on after finally accepting that he is worthy enough to wear it after his wife's death. Both the producers and the director had sworn the entire cast and crew to secrecy, not wanting the climax of the movie to be spoiled. "You can't spoil it!"

"Then I won't," Derek said with a shrug. "I'll just say it was a joke and come up with a different reason for the rings."

"You say that like it's the easiest thing in the world," Stiles sighed almost wistfully, relaxing into Derek's arms. Resting his head on Derek's shoulder, Stiles tossed his arm around Derek's waist, scooting closer.

"It is," Derek announced easily, running his hand down the length of Stiles' arm to his hand, threading their fingers together as he pressed a kiss to the top of Stiles' head. Smiling contentedly, he leaned back against the plush cushions of the couch, running his thumb over Stiles' as he murmured, "Can't let anyone think I'm already married to my boyfriend. That'd spoil my proposal."

Three years later when Derek and Stiles actually got married, it made all the headlines again.

**Author's Note:**

> You can always find me on Tumblr [here](http://hale-of-stiles-heart.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
